Snow, ice make for messy road conditions

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — 11:45 A.M. UPDATE:Only a handful of states have no travel advisory. Marion County and Hendricks County remain under a yellow travel advisory, but other counties surrounding Indianapolis were under an orange travel watch. Click here for a county-by-county map and explanation of the travel restrictions in place.

Purdue University canceled classes for the rest of the day.

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10:55 A.M. UPDATE: Southbound lanes of Interstate 65 in Johnson County were closed because of icy conditions.

INDOT reported I-65 southbound at Whiteland/mile marker 95 would be closed for two hours because of the dangerous conditions on the interstate. That was around 10:40 a.m.

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9:30 A.M. UPDATE: Interstate 65 southbound was shut down in White County because of a multiple vehicle crash.

Indiana State Police asked drivers to avoid I-65 in White County at the 193 mile marker southbound. Traffic was requested to exit at either the 201 mile marker, which is U.S. 24 in Jasper County, or at the 193 mile marker, that is the U.S. 231 exit.

Crews were working to clear the roadway. It wasn’t immediately clear when lanes would re-open.

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9:20 A.M. UPDATE: More than 500 closings and delays were in place Wednesday morning.

The Indiana Department of Transportation said that a total of 830 snow plow trucks were deployed statewide. Indiana State Police in Indianapolis said the majority of the weather-related calls troopers responded to were slide-offs.

Mayor Ballard said, “Crews have been working pretty hard. Been out since 11 am. yesterday morning. Very proud of them. They’re sticking to it, especially through this entire winter.”

The mayor discussed the decision to keep the city open on 24-Hour News 8’s Daybreak. He said, “The forecast is really accurate now, especially as you get closer. We thought this was the type of snow we could be able to clear pretty quickly. We thought the services would be able to continue, and right now that looks true. Trash pick-up will be going on today. We just thought people would be able to get to work and IndyGo should be able to drive, so we just kept it open.”

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6:35 A.M. UPDATE: In the last hour, more than 100 schools and businesses announced they were closing or delaying opening.

Purdue University announced all classes before 1 P.M. have been cancelled.

INDOT said crews are currently focusing on clearing the high speed lanes on interstates. They also said special attention will be given to exit ramps that have been especially problematic for drivers.

An INDOT representative told 24-Hour News 8 a number of cars have been getting stuck on the ramps.

A Indianapolis Department of Public Works spokesperson said a number of contractors working on clearing private lots have been pushing large piles of snow into public streets, creating further problems.

1:40 A.M. UPDATE: Large portions of Indiana are covered in five to eight inches of snow with an additional one to four inches predicted to come overnight.

Meteorologist Pamela Gardner said in the Forecast 8 Weather Blog ice is mixing in with snow in southern Indiana. is now covered now he Indiana State Police Indianapolis District was busy responding to weather-related incidents Tuesday.

A semi jackknifed on the Interstate 465 south ramp to Interstate 74. That area was closed for about an hour Tuesday evening.

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10:15 P.M. UPDATE: Indiana State Police officials around the state report minimal problems, as many people have stayed off the roads. Those who are driving appear to be taking it slowly.

Counties outside of Indianapolis reported blowing and drifting snow. Many places already had 4 inches of snow or more.

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9:15 P.M. UPDATE:Heavy snow continues to fall across central Indiana. The heavy snow will continue through midnight into early Wednesday morning. Lighter snow will take over and continue until early Wednesday afternoon.

7:15 P.M. UPDATE: No power outages were reported by major power companies. Forecast 8 Meteorologist Robb Ellis said sleet was beginning to fall in the Seymour area.

Indianapolis International Airport was up to 3.8 inches of snow.

Some counties did change their travel status. Click here for the updated map.

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6:15 P.M. UPDATE: Snow totals have begun to come in to Forecast 8 meteorologists. So far, 2.7 inches were seen in Carmel and 1.7 inches were seen at Indianapolis International Airport. Marshall in Parke County already had 4.5 inches of snow.

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5:30 P.M. UPDATE: A crash on the south side of Indianapolis had eastbound I-465 restricted near State Road 37.

Traffic was slow-going in parts of the city as people tried to make their way home from work. 24-Hour News 8 news crew saw some slide-offs, including a semi on the side of the road where Interstate 65 cuts through Boone County.

Viewers took out their cameras as the snow started coming down. See their photos by clicking here.

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3:45 P.M. UPDATE: As snow began to fall in Indiana, delays and closures began to pop up. Muncie announced city offices would be on a two-hour delay on Wednesday. Butler University also announced it would close campus at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Campus will open again at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

There were about 30 delays and closures in all.Click here for the most updated list.

Send your photos of the snow to reportit@wishtv.com or click here to submit through our website.

The region is under a winter storm warning from at 1 p.m. Tuesday to 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Snow showers were expected to begin between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday. Drivers could see 1 to 2 inches by the end of the Tuesday evening commute. Snow will become heavier Tuesday evening with some areas seeing snow rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour, and maybe some thunder snow. By late evening and overnight, areas south of I-70 may see a mix of some sleet and freezing rain with the snow.

Snow showers will continue into Wednesday for a dangerous morning commute. Most of the accumulating snow will be done by the morning although there will be a few snow showers throughout the morning into the afternoon.

Areas north of Interstate 70 are expected to get anywhere between 6 and 10 inches of snowfall by Wednesday morning, with some pockets up to 12 inches. Areas south of I-70 may see anywhere from 1 to 8 inches of snow mixed with ice and sleet. Higher snowfall totals are possible if locations see all snow.

Areas to the south of I-70 could also see very slick roads due to ice accumulation. Freezing and sleet could add up to around a quarter of an inch or more. All areas could see blowing snow as well, as winds will increase Tuesday into Wednesday. Areas that see some freezing rain may have a higher chance of power outages due to power lines falling down due to the weight of the ice on the lines.

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